FCC fines another robocaller $82 million as it seeks end to caller ID spoofing

The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday fined robocaller Philip Roesel and his companies more than $82 million for illegal caller ID spoofing. Roesel made more than 21 million robocalls over a three-month period from late 2016 through early 2017, according to an FCC release.

Roesel used his companies, Wilmington Insurance Quotes and Best Insurance Contracts, to market health insurance and generate leads for insurance products he sold, the FCC said. Spoofing a robocall means someone else's phone number is displayed when a telemarketer makes calls. The practice makes it hard to annoyed consumers to make complaints and difficult for police to track him down.

"Make no mistake about it: Penalizing those who spoof caller ID information and flood Americans' phones with unlawful robocalls must be a component of any effective strategy for combating this scourge," FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in an email statement.